Ukip trounce the Coalition in by-election

The Coalition government was dealt a humiliating blow in the latest by-election today as they were pushed into third and fourth place by Ukip.

PUBLISHED: 09:09, Fri, Feb 14, 2014

Nigel Farage after the results were announced[LNP]

Labour won the Wythenshawe and Sale East seat, with Ukip surging from fifth place in 2010 to second in the latest poll.

The Conservatives were forced into fourth place, and Lib Dem support was decimated.

Former councillor Mike Kane held the seat for the Labour party, polling 13,261 votes.

Ukip leapfrogged over the coalition candidates, despite leader Nigel Farage complaining the campaign had been "as dirty as they come".

The party's success and the demise of the Tory vote is yet another by-election blow to Prime Minister David Cameron.

The Liberal Democrats polled just 1,176 votes - not enough to hold their deposit.

The by-election was brought about by the sudden death of the serving MP, Paul Goggins, on January 7, at 60.

Mr Farage, speaking from the count at Manchester Central convention centre, said he was pleased with how his party performed but complained forcefully about the way the election was run.

Mike Kane appeared to be praying for success on the campaign [JON PARKER LEE]

It represents really good solid, steady progress, not an easy constituency for us, we have got no history here

Nigel Farage

He said the fact that postal votes were issued just three days after the election was declared, allowing people then to cast votes, reduced the poll to a farce - and he joked he had "been on benders" longer than election campaigns that long.

He said: "This is nothing to do with this result, this is a point I have made at every single by-election and I'm going to go on making it, it's just at Wythenshawe it reached farcical proportions.

"Nominations for candidacy closed on the 29th of January, first postal votes arrived on the 1st of February, that's a three day campaign.

"And it doesn't matter how people voted but the point about democracy is you should see who the candidates are, see what their agendas are and then form an opinion.

"That is not happening and it is reducing, frankly, these by-elections to farces.

"It is a system that allows the incumbent party to call the by-election at a time of their choosing and it doesn't give a free, open contest to anybody else."

On the performance of his party Mr Farage declared himself "very pleased".

He added: "It represents really good solid, steady progress, not an easy constituency for us, we have got no history here."

In his victory speech, Mr Kane said voters had "sent a very clear message" to the Government.

"They have rejected the failed policies of the out-of-touch Tories, they have rejected the isolationism and scaremongering of Ukip.

"It's a result which emphatically demonstrates that people here know the NHS is not safe in David Cameron's hands, and that we've had enough of his utterly out-of-touch Government."